Egyptian Roots

March 13, 2003

Laurence Gardner has drawn some fascinating conclusions about the roots of modern day Judeo-Christianity. In a lecture he presented at the Nexus Conference in 1998, he discussed how many stories, prayers, and rituals in Judaism and Christianity are actually hybrids or adaptations from older Egyptian, Canaanite and Mesopotamian traditions.

For instance the name "Amen" which is recited after prayers actually refers to an Egyptian god, Gardner states. "Not only were the Ten Commandments drawn from Egyptian ritual, but so too were the Psalms reworked from Egyptian hymns, though they were attributed to King David," Gardner said. He added that the Egyptian Book of the Dead was used in compiling the Old Testament, and parts of the Kabbalah were gleaned from the wisdom of the Egyptian god Thoth.

Interestingly, Gardner points out that Jesus wouldn't have had access to the Old Testament but to scriptures that contained a number of books that were eventually not included in the current Bible. He names the Book of the Lord, the Book of the Wars of Jehovah, and the Book of Jasher. "Why were they not included? Quite simply because their content did not suit the new Jehovah-based religion that was being created. Jasher for example, was the Egyptian-born son of Caleb," said Gardner.